Il Tesoro di San Lorenzo

by Elisabetta Nardinocchi and Ludovica Sebregondi

The permanent exhibition of the Treasure of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, restored and collected at the headquarters of the Compagnia del Santissimo Sacramento, has been open to the public since December 2007. Situated directly beneath the Old Sacristy, the area is part of the underground labyrinth under the basilica built by Filippo Brunelleschi in the 15th century and housing the tombs of Donatello and Cosimo the Elder. An extensive historical introduction serves as the backdrop for the catalogue of works brought to San Lorenzo in the late 18th century when the original furnishings of the Medici church, some of which dispersed, started to be broken up. The most valuable works include a reliquary by Cosimo Merlini the Elder, designed by Giulio Parigi, and two crucifixes: one by Michelozzo and the other the outcome of the collaboration of two important figures at the grand-ducal court, the goldsmith Bernardo Holzmann and the sculptor Giovan Battista Foggini.